CHICAGO -- Menopausal hormone therapy was associated with a reduced risk of low bone mineral density (BMD) among postmenopausal women in a retrospective cohort study.
Among the 387 women analyzed, low BMD -- defined as osteopenia or osteoporosis -- was less common for those taking hormone therapy versus those not receiving it (31.8% vs 56.2%, P<0.001), reported Diego Espinoza-Peralta, MD, MSc, of the Investigación Médica Sonora in Mexico.
On multivariable adjustment, the likelihood of low BMD was 69% lower with hormone therapy (OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.19-0.50).
"This association remained essentially unchanged in multiple sensitivity analyses" that adjusted for hypertension, chronic kidney disease, physical activity, and calcium supplementation, Espinoza-Peralta said at ENDO 2026, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.
Postmenopausal women taking hormone therapy also had significantly higher T-scores at two of the primary sites evaluated for low BMD: the lumbar spine (-0.62 vs -1.02, P<0.001) and the total hip (-0.32 vs -0.81, P<0.001).
